The Gothic ruins of a Medieval abbey church with a shepherd and his cows

Oil on canvas : 30,2 X 43,8 cm

Unsigned

Frame : 51,9 X 61,7 cm

About the Dissolution of the monasteries

In February 1531 the English King Henry VIII (1491 – 1547) had declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England. In the late 1530s the Dissolution of the Monasteries disbanded all 800 monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland: the King appropriated their income, disposed of their assets and destroyed, sold or simply give away the buildings. Up to that time the Church owned nearly one fifth of the land in England.

The new owners had the buildings partly dismantled: precious building materials such as stone, marble, timber and lead were sold or re-used.

Monastic buildings soon fell into ruin.

Writers and painters from the Romantic Era (late 18th – middle 19th century) were the first to discover and appreciate the authenticity of these magnificent, powerful Medieval ruins.

About our painting

I was not able to identify the ruins of our painting. Maybe it is just a Romantic interpretation.

Last Summer I visited the ruins of Bolton Priory, which this painting reminds me strongly of. That Augustinian monastery was created in the 12th century in North Yorkshire, a region that is rich in ruins of Medieval monasteries.

Why should you buy this painting?

Because it is such a gentle, Early Romantic English landscape painting.